I saw the famous Smith & Wesson displayed in the Wyatt Earp Museum along with the hand drawn maps and other stuff that was on exhibit in Tombstone. Wow, was that neat! I remember that the gun had a fine set of ivory grips. Then out came Shillingberg's "Wyatt Earp and the Buntline Special Myth" and that seemed to explain it. Then Gilchriest sold the gun to the Autry Museum and Franklin Mint put out their replica version. I was puzzled by the change to wood grips on both. Among the items sold at auction after Gilchriest's death is a photo that lists items belonging to John Clum and the gun is clearly visible. I have been told that the ivory grips had Clum's name written on the inside and therefore created a problem. The Autry has removed the gun from display as they firmly believe it was not owned by W. S. Earp. Since Doc's nickle plated Colt was so talked about in the aftermath of the fight it seems strange that an engraved nickle plated Smith & Wesson in the hands of one of the shooters would have been ignored.
Jim